Sec. 22-6e. Gardening or agricultural use of vacant public land.
Sec. 22-6e. Gardening or agricultural use of vacant public land. (a) The commissioner may develop a program to encourage the use of vacant public land owned by
the state for gardening or agricultural purposes. In order to carry out said program, the
commissioner shall: (1) In cooperation with other state agencies, compile a list of all
vacant public land owned by the state, that in the opinion of such agencies and the
commissioner may be feasibly used for gardening or agriculture, and (2) establish a
procedure for application to the department on a form to be furnished by the commissioner for a permit to use available vacant public land for gardening or agricultural
purposes. The commissioner shall adopt regulations pursuant to chapter 54 to carry out
the provisions of this section, including but not limited to requirements for agreements
to use vacant public land for gardening or agricultural purposes, establishment of a
fee for such permit, except that no fee shall be charged for gardening permits, and
requirements for the use of such land for agricultural purposes based on competitive
open bidding. Permits shall be for a period prescribed by the commissioner but shall
not exceed ten years from the date of issuance. After such period permit holders may
apply for a new permit or renewal of the permit. Applicants shall submit a plan for such
use and shall agree to maintain the land in a condition consistent with such land use
plan, and shall agree to abide by regulations adopted by the department pursuant to
chapter 54. Failure to carry out the conditions of agreement shall result in the forfeiture
of the garden or agriculture permit. Any applicant who is granted the use of vacant
public land for gardening or agricultural purposes shall indemnify and save harmless
the state and all of its officers, agents and employees against suits and claims of liability
of each name and nature arising out of, or in consequence of the use of vacant public land.
(b) Any permit issued pursuant to subsection (a) of this section may be terminated
by the commissioner, without cause, upon written notice to the permittee.
(c) A sponsor who has a gardening permit may assess a fee to individual gardeners
for the sole purpose of reimbursing such sponsor for costs incurred in land preparation.
(d) Any payments by the permit holder pursuant to an agreement for the use of state
land for agricultural purposes shall be credited in equal shares to the General Fund
account of the agency whose land is being used for such purposes and to the Department
of Agriculture for the purpose of administering the program.
(P.A. 75-497, S. 2, 4; P.A. 77-75, S. 2, 3; P.A. 82-310, S. 1, 2; P.A. 83-26; P.A. 05-124, S. 3; P.A. 06-196, S. 153.)
History: P.A. 77-75 added "sponsor" in Subdiv. (2), replaced "person" with "applicant" in hold harmless provision and
added Subsecs. (b) and (c) re termination of permits and fees; P.A. 82-310 amended the section to authorize the use of
vacant public land for agricultural purposes where before use was restricted to gardening, required the commissioner adopt
regulations and establish permit fees and added Subsec. (d) mandating payments be credited to the general fund account
of the agency whose land is used for agricultural purposes; P.A. 83-26 amended Subsec. (a) to require regulations for
agricultural use based on competitive open bidding; P.A. 05-124 made a technical change and extended maximum permit
period from 7 to 10 years in Subsec. (a) and credited payments by permit holder in equal shares to General Fund and
Department of Agriculture for purpose of administering program in Subsec. (d); P.A. 06-196 made a technical change in
Subsec. (b), effective June 7, 2006.
See Sec. 22-6d for applicable definitions.